Monday, September 13, 2010

Even before the attacks on the twin towers, millions of Americans despised and blamed Muslims unfairly, as they did after the Oklahoma bombings

By Yasmin Alibhai-BrownThe Independent

(Currently the most read opinion)

".....There were always virtuous, exceptional Americans who stood by the persecuted through the worst of times. They are there today, too, those who stand against mobs, like Donna Marsh O'Connor, whose pregnant daughter was murdered by the 9/11 bombers. She backs the Islamic cultural centre in New York because that freedom is what her country stands for – or should: "I cannot afford to allow my country to perish in the ashes with my baby girl."

The real struggle today is between hate-filled Yankees and those who hold on to the most noble aspirations of their country. If the idealists fall, it will be hell for Muslims, yes, and a catastrophe for the superpower. Its potent mythology, self-definition, patriotic anthems, poems and hymns will turn to ash and the Great United States Of America that was will be no more. "